well live up to expectations it did.

nothing dead about the long room @ chateau tanunda (not that we thought that anyway). the hospitality of John, Matt and the staff was excellent. so good in fact we have said we will go back next year for an annual style event there (seriously).

have to say thanks for sharing the Château Tanunda 2009 Barossa Tower Pinot Grigio with us - it had just scored a nice 90 points.. and was very tasty :)

the winner of the "dead" was no other than Mr Paul Prince with a bottle of Basedows Claret Vintage 1975 (kindly donated or sponsored by Doug Lehman... so do we have some real challengers in our midst??).

thanks to everyone who traveled up, spent the nite, enjoyed the countryside over the weekend... brought friends from the valley and generally had a good time. it's true we had a smaller crowd (40) like the launch last year - but having said that the noise and fun generated was equally as good as any of the events we have run...

true to our word the profit from the evening will go to the Heart Foundation. at this stage that sits at $300.

my personal thanks to Matt and Jim for judging (i think they enjoyed the job at hand immensely)... Steve for his expert MC'ng and videos (not sure how much of that will turn out tho mate), Dana for photos, Bruce for his excellent role as door bitch and Maria for helping set up and just being there.

take care, drink sensibly, see ya at the next dead event!!
xcharlie

ps big thanks to the tanunda clubhouse for putting up with our after party too... we let our hair down :)